PFAS found in 20 additional Muskegon-area drinking water wells

MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI – A new round of test results show that 20 additional homes in Norton Shores near the Muskegon County Airport have tested positive for toxic chemicals called PFAS in the drinking water.

At least two of those homes, which were sampled between November and December, tested well above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s lifetime health advisory level of 70 parts per trillion (ppt).

County officials said the latest detections are troubling.

“The investigation is ongoing and we’re definitely watching the situation,” said Kathy Moore, Muskegon County public health director.

In September, Muskegon County and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality found high levels of PFAS in drinking water wells near the airport. Those initial results prompted bottled water deliveries to four homes in Norton Shores; to the north, west and southwest of the airport, and led the DEQ to expand its testing area to at least 30 additional homes.

In total, the county has tested for PFAS at 52 homes near the airport. The contamination is believed to result from the airport’s past use of chemical-based AFFF firefighting foam.

The most recent results showed the highest PFAS levels at two homes located in the 4000 block of Martin Road and the 400 block of Wendover Boulevard – the latter of which showed levels of Total PFAS, (the sum of all PFAS compounds in a given sample) at 518.6-ppt, according to a DEQ contractor lab report. Anything above 70-ppt of two individual compounds known as PFOS and PFOA is considered potentially harmful by the EPA.

Moore said her department has delivered bottled water to the homes on Martin Road and Wendover Boulevard and specialized water filters are being installed at both locations.

All of the most recent samples were collected between November and December 2018. The results show low levels of PFAS at homes on Porter Road, Eugene Avenue, Highgate Road, Loomis Drive, Stamford Drive, Wellesley Drive and Quainton Road.

Nine other homes in the area that were tested did not have detectable levels of any PFAS compounds.

The DEQ has a standing agreement with the county to pay for testing and monitoring of well water, Lake Michigan, public swimming pools, septic waste, area campgrounds and medical waste until Sept. 30, 2019. The agreement was renewed by the Muskegon County Board of Commissioners approved on Nov. 8.

In addition, the county is currently seeking its own engineering contractor for PFAS monitoring and potential remediation. Those bids are due on Jan. 17.

“We are ready to respond for the safety of our residents at any time,” said Moore. "Any time we know of PFAS (close to the 70-ppt advisory level), and if residents are concerned, we do advise them to use bottled water, consider connecting to a municipal water source or get a filter in their homes.”

Steve Fink, an engineer working with Muskegon County Public Works, said the county won’t know how much monitoring or remediation will cost until a contractor can investigate the area and understand the scope of the problem.

Exposure to PFAS is linked to certain types of cancer, high cholesterol, hypertension in pregnancy, thyroid disease and other health problems. State health officials say ingestion is the primary route of exposure concern.

The following locations have tested positive for PFAS in their well. The exact addresses have been withheld for privacy. Test results are given in parts-per-trillion (ppt). The EPA health advisory level is 70-ppt. “Total PFAS” is the sum of all PFAS compounds detected. “PFOS+PFOA” is the sum of those two individual compounds detected.

4000 block of Martin Road; Total PFAS: 108.1-ppt. A duplicate test showed Total PFAS at 99.8-ppt.

4000 block of Martin Road; PFOS+PFOA: 3.2-ppt, Total PFAS: 30.2-ppt.

5000 block of Martin Road; PFOS+PFOA: 14-ppt, Total PFAS: 58.5-ppt.

Each of the homes tested in Norton Shores get their drinking water from underground wells and are not connected to a municipal water source, Moore said. Norton Shores purchases its drinking water from the city of Muskegon, which draws water from Lake Michigan.

Fink said the Norton Shores groundwater investigation was spurred by interviews with former city firefighters who said they used a firefighting foam that contained per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, during training exercises at four points around the airport for several decades.

One of those training sites was located near Porter Road.

In September, four homes were identified as having harmful levels of PFAS in their drinking water.

The home on Wendover showed levels of Total PFAS at 679-ppt and PFOS+PFOA levels of 563.7-ppt. The DEQ’s Scott Dean said those were the highest levels of PFAS found in the first round of sampling at 23 homes near the airport.

Samples collected from the home on Porter Road had a Total PFAS level of 161-ppt and a PFOS+PFOA level of 120-ppt.

The home on West Byron had a Total PFAS level of 164-ppt and a PFOS+PFOA level of 71.8-ppt.

Dean said the fourth home was located on West Byron Road, but did not give an exact location.

PFAS chemicals are now showing up in well water around the airport and other drinking water systems across the state.

To date, the DEQ data shows that more than 1.9 million people -- about 20 percent of Michigan’s population -- have been drinking municipal water with at least a trace of PFAS detection.

The list of systems with known PFAS levels include major systems that draw water from the Great Lakes like Saginaw, Grand Rapids and Wyoming, as well as groundwater systems like Kalamazoo and Ann Arbor, which draws primarily from the Huron River.

Toxic PFAS chemicals have also been found in drinking water at a Grand Haven district elementary school at levels well above what’s considered acceptable for human health. In December, the DEQ ordered testing at 41 more wells for PFAS near Grand Haven’s Robinson Elementary School.